Not so long ago, many considered pollock a "cat" fish. There were plenty of inexpensive varieties, but buyers dreamed of wonders.
Now the variety of frozen carcasses on the shelves should impress any culinary specialist, but hey and pollock are among the most popular! And it's not a habit at all.
As it turned out, the rare inhabitants of the sea are not so tasty, but prices, on the contrary, bite. So the housewives had to get collections of grandmother's recipes and cook time-tested treats.
In our selection of recipes from simple to completely "restaurant", there is a classic and exotic, a fan of pungent and extravagant will also have something to feast on.
Pollock ear - general cooking principles
• The taste of fish soup depends on the choice of fish. In the non-frozen form, pollock is almost impossible to buy, so you have to choose frozen products. It is recommended to buy fish in specialized stores. A high-quality product is covered with a thin layer of ice, the amount of which should not exceed 4% of the total mass of the carcass. Buying pollock without an ice crust is not recommended. Without it, the fish dries and its own taste during long-term storage, and, therefore, the aroma of the fish soup leaves much to be desired. You should not buy fish in a large amount of ice - pay extra money for water. When choosing, be sure to carefully consider the carcasses of pollock through the ice crust. The meat should be white, without pinkish or yellowish blotches, such specks indicate that the fish is old.
• Frozen pollock should be thawed correctly. Put the fish in a bowl and wait until it thaws at room temperature. It can be packed in a sealed bag and placed in a bowl of cold water, which will speed up defrosting.
• Thawed pollock carcasses should be properly prepared and cleaned before use. Take the carcass with your left hand in the tail area, put the side to the cutting board and scrape the skin with a knife. It should slide “towards” the scales. In the same way, clean the scales and the other side. Cut off the head, stepping back from the gills to the tail by a centimeter. Then turn the fish on its back, make a longitudinal cut on the abdomen and gut it, carefully removing the black film. If you leave her ear will be bitter. Cut off all the fins, remove the tail, rinse the carcasses well and dry.
• Wuhu can be made from whole carcasses, fillets or sliced fish. Boil it over low heat without covering the pan with a lid. This allows you to cook a concentrated fish broth, without a pungent odor. To make the ear transparent as a tear, you need to carefully monitor the broth at the boiling stage, constantly collecting and removing the foam that forms on the surface.
• Vegetables are placed in the pollock ear: carrots, potatoes, onions, sometimes cereals are added. To achieve a special aroma and taste, the ear is supplemented with spices, bay leaf, peas of black or allspice, fresh herbs, parsley roots. But do not add a whole lot, otherwise the broth will lose its fishy aroma.
• Salt the fish dish at the very end, before removing from the heat. The salt added at the beginning can ruin the taste. Sea salt is the best option for pollock fish soup.
Pollock fish soup with potatoes - "Fisherman"
Ingredients:
• kilogram of pollock;
• six potatoes;
• a small bunch of fresh dill;
• five peas of pepper, black;
• a spoon with a small hill of butter;
• small parsley root;
• two onions;
• one and a half liters of water.
Cooking method:
1. Cut the carrots into small cubes, onions into half rings, and the washed and scraped parsley root into small slices. Put the chopped vegetables in a pan, in butter, fry until the onions are transparent.
2. Dip coarsely chopped potatoes in boiling water, boil until half cooked.
3. Put the fried vegetables, sliced fish in a pan. Continue cooking at low boil for up to 20 minutes.
4. At the end of cooking, salt the ear to your taste, season with spices if necessary. Sprinkle with herbs when serving.
"Balkan" Pollock Ear (acute)
Ingredients:
• freshly frozen pollock - 400 gr.;
• 150 gr. sweet bell pepper;
• one head of bitter onion;
• four potatoes;
• Bay leaf;
• large carrot;
• a third of a spoon of hot pepper;
• 70 gr. rice groats;
• vegetable oil;
• two tablespoons of ground paprika;
• ground dry coriander, cilantro seeds - 1 tsp each.
Cooking method:
1. Pour four tablespoons of oil into a thick-walled pan, put on a small fire. Immediately add the onion half rings, carrots chopped into strips. Stew vegetables, stirring, no longer than three minutes, then pour thin strips of bell pepper to them. Add the tomato to the vegetables that have reached the semi-preparedness, mix, continue cooking for another two minutes.
2. Pour one and a half liters of water into a pot with sautéed vegetables and quickly bring to a boil.
3. In boiling water, put two tablespoons of rice, mix, add chopped potatoes in centimeter cubes. Foam may form on the surface of the soup and must be removed continuously.
4. As soon as it begins to boil, reduce the heat, add cilantro, red pepper, paprika, coriander, continue cooking at a moderate temperature.
5. When the potatoes are half cooked, dip the chopped fish into the broth. Let the ear boil weakly for fifteen minutes, then put a bay leaf in it and remove from heat.
Pollock fish soup with cucumber pickle and pickles - "Kalya"
Ingredients:
• medium-sized carcasses of pollock, with a total mass of one and a half kilograms;
• 250 ml of brine from salted, but not pickled cucumbers;
• 2 liters of water;
• a pound of potatoes;
• two small pickles;
• half the average lemon;
• one carrot;
• saffron;
• 2 onion heads;
• allspice - three large peas;
• parsley root;
• two bay leaves;
• a teaspoon of tarragon.
Cooking method:
1. Finely chop the parsley root with the onion. Cut the potatoes into small slices or short cubes, and cut the carrots into small cubes. Boil the strained cucumber pickle for two minutes and set aside.
2. Boil the water, dip the vegetables into it and boil over low heat until the potatoes are half-cooked.
3. Add a small pinch of saffron, allspice, sliced pickles into small pieces of vegetable broth. Pour boiled cucumber pickle immediately.
4. Put fish in boiling vegetable broth and continue cooking for another 30 minutes. Remember to collect the foam after boiling.
5. When the fish and potatoes reach readiness, lower the bay leaves in your ear, add tarragon. Pour the juice squeezed from the lemon, stir and let it brew for a quarter of an hour.
A simple recipe for Pollock fish soup with pearl barley
Ingredients:
• a pound of pollock;
• five small potatoes;
• half a glass of pearl barley;
• large onion;
• a small handful of onion peel;
• two medium carrots;
• two middle bay leaves;
• Ready-made spices "For the first fish dishes."
Cooking method:
1. Put the fish in a pan, cut into large enough pieces, pour one and a half liters of water and set to maximum heat. Rinse thoroughly, preferably onion peel in warm water and put it in a pan with fish.
2. When the fish stock boils, remove all the foam from the surface, reduce the temperature and cook for about half an hour until the fish is ready.
3. Remove the finished pieces of pollock from the broth, put in a separate bowl. Be sure to cover the fish so that it does not wind off.
4. Strain the fish broth using gauze in another pan and set on heat. When it boils, add carrots chopped on a grater, thin half onion rings. Pour barley washed with cold water.
5. When the cereal is well cooked, add medium-sized pieces of potatoes, lower the lavrushka, season the ear with spices, and slightly add salt. Cook until the potatoes are cooked.
6. From the cooled pieces of pollock remove the ridge and lower the pieces into the ear, about five minutes before being ready.
Pollock fish soup with tomatoes
Ingredients:
• three large potatoes;
• 700 gr. pollock;
• one onion;
• root parsley - one root;
• two fresh tomatoes;
• fresh parsley or dill;
• water - two and a half liters.
Cooking method:
1. Cut the processed carcasses of pollock into pieces and put in a pan. Pour a liter of water, add peeled and notched parsley root and put on intense heat. When the broth boils, remove the foam. Reduce the heat so that the broth is only slightly boiling, and continue to cook until cooked for half an hour, or a little more.
2. Dip the tomatoes for two minutes in boiling water, and then, for a minute, in cold water. Carefully peel the tomatoes, cut the flesh into small pieces.
3. Pour one and a half liters of water into a clean pan. Put finely chopped carrots, chopped pulp of tomatoes, medium-sized potato wedges and pieces of onion.
4. In case of high heat, wait until it boils, then reduce the temperature and continue cooking with a small boil. Be sure to salt, add spices if desired.
5. For almost ready vegetables, carefully shift the fish, add strained broth, in which pollock was cooked. On a small fire, without covering, bring the vegetables to readiness.
6. Sprinkle the prepared ear with finely chopped greens and let it stand for a while.
Recipe for aromatic Pollock fish soup with vodka
Ingredients:
• good vodka from grain alcohol - a tablespoon;
• 800 gr. fresh-frozen pollock;
• large onion;
• a small bunch of dill;
• large carrot;
• black pepper - 5 peas;
• three bay leaves;
• a bunch of parsley;
• a small lemon;
• pitted olives;
• potatoes - four tubers, medium size.
Cooking method:
1. Rinse and thaw out pollock carcasses thawed and gutted. Cut into portions, transfer to a saucepan, and put on a boil, pouring 3 liters of water.
2. When the water boils, add a little salt, remove the foam. Reduce the heat to medium, and without covering, continue cooking for a quarter of an hour.
3. Put medium-sized cubes of carrots, coarsely chopped potatoes, and a whole onion into boiling fish stock.
4. When the potatoes are ready, add the peppercorns of black pepper, bay leaves and finely chopped parsley to the ear. Pour in the vodka, mix thoroughly and set the lid aside for at least 20 minutes.
5. Remove the onion from the infused fish soup, pour chopped dill into it. When serving, put a thin slice of lemon and olives in each plate.
Pollock ear - cooking tips and tricks
• Ready fish stock, before adding other components to the soup, it is advisable to strain.
• Do not throw away the head, fins and tail when cutting. Put them together with the fish in the water, having previously tied in cheesecloth - the ear will be more rich.
• Fresh lemon juice will help get rid of the persistent and not all-smelling fish. Sprinkle them with fish a couple of minutes before laying in the water.
• Onion husk added at the beginning of cooking will give a beautiful color to the ear. If you want to lay the whole bulb, lower it directly in the husk, cut in half.
• A little butter, as well as finely chopped fresh herbs, added after readiness, will significantly improve the taste of pollack fish soup.
